Somebody That I Used to Know
by Rose-SK
Summary: When Lucifer Morningstar finds out that his ex-girlfriend is still alive after months of believing she was dead, he is determined to find her. Nothing could have prepared him for the events that unfolded next. And they say that surprise is the tool of the devil...
1. Chapter 1

"What on earth is that?" Lucifer asked, looking at the charcoaled crust of what looked like a dish his mother had prepared for him.

"Cheesy noodles. It's what mothers make to bring their children joy", she replied, "I saw it on the flat-screen"

"That explains all the cheese." Lucifer stood up from his couch and went to pour himself a drink.

"Lucifer, I wish, with all my being, that things could go back to the way things were. With you and all my children again in Heaven. I want what your father took from me. I want my home back", at this stage, Lucifer thought that his mother's eyes would start welling up, but that would imply that she actually cared, "but I know that's not possible. So, I want to do what I can to be a good mother to you here, on Earth."

"It's too late. You abandoned me, Mum" Lucifer took a few challenging paces towards his mother, his tone heavy with bitterness, "you just stood by and watched as I was cast out. Thrown into Hell and vilified for all eternity. There aren't enough cheesy noodles in the universe to fix all that, I'm afraid" Those last words were spoken with a tinge of sadness. Unable to face his mother a second longer, Lucifer went onto the balcony of his penthouse, looking up at the starry sky. He sighed inertly when he heard his mother join him.

"I might not be able to convince you that I am truly sorry for everything that happened to you. But maybe, I can show you how sorry I am by helping you be happy again. That's a mother's number one priority: to make sure her children are happy" Lucifer smiled humourlessly.

"And what information could you possibly have that would give me the key to my happiness? Do you have a way to make me forget all those horrible years spent in hell wondering why mum and dad hated me so much that they cast me out like I was trash?" Lucifer's mother looked at him with a small smile on his lips, making Lucifer wish he could wipe it off her face.

"No, nothing that complicated I'm afraid. I know where Grace is…"

Those words had the effect of a punch to the gut for Lucifer. He was uncertain how to react, so he merely stared at his mother blankly. It all felt like a nightmare, and maybe if he pinched himself he would wake up… He was disappointed when pinching amounted to nothing.

"Devil got your tongue, sweetheart?"

"How dare you use her name to manipulate me? How dare you reduce that name to a tool to get what you want?" Lucifer's voice was dangerously low and he knew for a fact that his eyes were flaring, but his mother did not seem fazed by his reaction. Her expression merely changed to one of mock surprise.

"I'm sorry darling, I thought you would be pleased to know that Grace was still alive. From what I've gathered, they told you she was dead…" Lucifer's hand shot up to grab his mother by the throat and his face was merely inches away from hers.

"Do not joke about matters you don't understand. If you are lying to me about that I will send you back to hell here and now, I won't hesitate. And no amount of apologies will change that…"

"I'm not lying", his mother assured, hiding the fact that she struggled to breathe, "I know where she is. I could give you her address, you could see her again… in return, you don't send me back to hell. How does that sound?" Lucifer stared into his mother's eyes intently, hoping to find a trace of lie in them.

"You are telling the truth…"

"Yes, son. I want you to be happy and I want to be close to you. Just take this as a token of my honesty…" Lucifer felt his stomach churn. "So, are you interested?"

Lucifer thought about it, letting his mother go. He thought he was over the whole story, he thought he had managed to find peace with the fact that Grace was in a better place after the horrible things that had happened to her. To find out that Grace was alive… well, it filled Lucifer's heart with hope, something he had not felt in a while. And it felt good. It felt good to know that good old dad's plan had not turned out the way he had intended. Grace was alive, how he was not quite sure, but she was still alive.

"Yes" Lucifer finally said, his voice raw with emotion, "tell me where she is"


	2. Chapter 2

Lucifer parked the Corvette along Oak Hills Drive, about an hour away from Los Angeles. It had not been the most entertaining drive, but that could be down to the fact that Lucifer had been too busy apprehending his meeting with Grace. His heart raced in his chest as he approached 338, Oak Hills Drive. The house was a typical suburban estate, the type of house you could see a married couple with 2.3 children and a dog live in. A dark blue Volvo was parked in the driveway, indicating that someone was in the house. Lucifer hoped for his mother's sake that she had given him the right address.

As he approached the house, he heard the screeching sound of tyres from around the corner followed by police sirens. Soon after, four police cars whooshed past Lucifer and stopped right outside the house next door to where Lucifer initially meant to head. To his surprise, he saw Detective Decker come out of one of the cars.

"Detective, what a lovely surprise" he called out to her. Decker spun around and looked at Lucifer with an incredulous look on her face.

"How the hell did you know where you had to go? I didn't even contact you!"

"Pleasure to see you as well, my dear" Lucifer sarcastically remarked, "but sadly I'm not here to help you out, I am here to pay a visit to the neighbour. Now if you'll excuse me…" Lucifer started heading for house number 338, ignoring the detective's baffled questions. Having reached the front door, Lucifer knocked three times, waiting patiently for someone to open the door and feeling like he was about to faint. He tried to hide his nervousness as best as he could, hoping he was successful in the process. The couple of seconds he had to wait felt like an eternity. The door finally opened to reveal a young woman with curly brown hair, looking rather intimidated and confused.

"I heard the police cars outside, has something happened to Jane?" The worry was clear in her voice, not that Lucifer noticed. His throat had gone dry and the world felt like it was spinning. He could not believe that his mother had been telling him the truth. Grace was standing right in front of him, looking exactly like Lucifer remembered her: beautiful and pure.

"Sir? Is everything alright?", her soft voice asked, her momentary concern for her neighbour obviously gone.

"It's really you… I never thought I would see you again, Grace" Lucifer said in a whisper. His heart sank in his chest when he noticed the confused look in Grace's eyes and it broke when she spoke her next words:

"I'm awfully sorry but, do we know each other?" Lucifer was about to reply when something about Grace caught his eye: the ring on her left ring finger. The diamond dazzled him like it was mocking him.

"You are… you're married?" The woman looked at her hand as if to make sure that the ring was still there.

"Eh… yes, I am. Are you okay? You look very pale. May I offer you a drink of water?" There were so many things that Lucifer wished to say but simply did not manage to get out. One thing he was certain of, he would not miss the opportunity to be around Grace after believing for months that she was dead. He agreed to the drink of water and was invited in.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me" he apologised, realising that the situation would be far more complicated than he had anticipated. In his mind, they both would have been in her bed at that point of the meeting. He had not considered the possibility of her not remembering him.

"Don't you worry about that" she reassured him, smiling shyly in his direction, "I assume you are with the LAPD?"

"What?"

"The LAPD? That's why you came to knock on my door, because something happened to my neighbour Jane?" There it was again, her concerned voice. She poured some fresh water in a glass and handed it to her guest, expecting Lucifer to tell her something meaningful about whatever was happening next door. But all he could do was stare. How cruel could life be to him? He had found her, and she did not have any recollection of what they used to have. What sweet, sweet agony; even the devil had rarely been so diabolic.

"I think we will have to wait until my colleague comes around with more information. In the meantime, eh… how about you tell me more about yourself? You know, we need to rule out any potential suspects and neighbours come pretty high on the list…"

"Oh… of course, well …"

"Grace, honey? Who the hell is that man and why are the LAPD here?" Lucifer felt a cold shiver run down his spine at the sound of the male voice interrupting his and Grace's conversation. Her husband, no doubt. Lucifer had to contain his rage and jealousy so he did not do anything unfortunate to this man.

"Don't worry Jake, I'm fine. I think something happened to Jane…" Grace and her husband looked at each other knowingly and he seemed to catch the meaning of what she was implying.

"Oh", the man named Jake looked at Lucifer and extended his hand for him to shake, "good morning detective, Jake Hoffmann. This is my wife, Gr…"

"We have already met" Lucifer interrupted, "now I am very curious as to what you two know that the LAPD doesn't. Go on now, spill the beans" Not being alone with Grace in the same room was enough for Lucifer to be his old self again. He desperately needed to keep up appearances and find a way to speak to Grace alone. He needed to understand why she did not remember him – or at least, if she _did_ , why she did not acknowledge him at all.

"Well, we moved in six months ago, right after we got married and Jane and I were friends from the get go. She's a lovely woman, empathetic, shy, quiet. And she makes delicious banana cakes. I often went round to her house for a cup of coffee in the afternoon when I was not working at the hospital. And one day when I was there I…" Grace stopped mid-sentence, obviously hesitant to carry on. She shot her husband an insecure look, which was met by what was certainly meant to be an encouraging nod.

"One day, I saw that she was bruised and I asked her what had happened, and she told me that she had fallen down the stairs in the morning. Being a nurse, I recognised that the bruises could not have come from a fall… someone had obviously inflicted them to her"

"Her husband, I presume?" Lucifer asked. Grace simply nodded. "And, did you go back to hers after that?"

"Yes, every day to check that she was alright and… well, I told her that if she ever felt like leaving the house for a bit I would gladly drive her to Los Angeles and spend the day there with her, maybe even a night in a hotel, my treat. She merely smiled and said she would take me up on the offer. That was just last week. I haven't heard from her since then and when I knocked on her door no one would answer" Grace's eyes welled up with tears, and Lucifer felt the urge to embrace her and make her feel better. Like he used to do.

"It's okay, honey, you did what you could to help her" Jake shushed her, kissing her temple softly. It took every ounce of Lucifer's will power not to snap.

"Although you two make a disgustingly adorable picture, I believe that…" A knock on the door followed by _LAPD open the door_ interrupted Lucifer, who was starting to get annoyed with constantly being disturbed. Thankfully, Jake left the room to welcome Detective Decker and two other police officers into his home.

"Mrs Hoffmann?" Grace looked up at the detective, "Chloe Decker from the LAPD. I am sorry to be the bringer of bad news today…" The rest of the sentence hung in the air, but Grace understood and tried to swallow back her tears without success. "Jane Augusto was found dead in her bed and your husband told us that you and she were quite close…"

"The husband did it, abusive little bastard hit his wife to death or did something else to end her life" Lucifer interjected, earning himself a deadly glare from Chloe. Not that he particularly cared. "Don't look at me like that, this lovely couple here told me all about this woman's life before you got here"

"Hang on, how did you know who to question?" Chloe asked.

"I'm always a step ahead of you, Decker, just get used to it" Lucifer drooled, flashing her a satisfied smile which made the detective roll her eyes in annoyance.

"Lucifer, we really need to…"

"Lucifer?" Grace asked, suddenly looking at Lucifer intently. For some reason, he thought that she would remember everything, jump at him and kiss him with all the passions of heaven and hell combined, but all he got was "like the devil?" Hiding his disappointment behind a wall of sarcasm he replied:

"Yes, Lucifer like the devil, why are you people always so keen on stating the obvious?"

"I'm sorry I… just thought it was odd…" Grace looked genuinely apologetic.

"Don't worry, his whole persona is odd. You get used to it after a while. Lucifer, we need to get going come on!" Too distracted to even dignify the detective's comment with an answer, Lucifer looked at Grace one last time and followed Chloe outside. As she turned around to, no doubt, have a chat about the case, Lucifer shook his head and went back inside, not heeding Decker calling his name. When he reached the kitchen once again, he placed both his hands on Grace's arms, holding her still as he spoke to her.

"Grace, it's me, Lucifer. You know me, we were together for three years. You can't tell me you don't remember our time together, even if it ended badly and you wish you could forget…"

"LUCIFER, what the hell are you doing?", Decker shouted at him.

"Hey you! Get your hands off my wife now!" Jake's futile attempts to pull Lucifer away from him did not bother the king of hell in the least. His focus was entirely on Grace.

"You can't be his wife! A year ago, you and I were still together" Grace furrowed her eyebrows at that comment and managed to wriggle herself free from Lucifer's embrace.

"Not that this is any of your business, but a year ago I was in a coma. I was involved in a car crash that nearly cost me my life. When I woke up, my childhood sweetheart Jake was at my bed and proposed to me and as soon as I got better we got married roughly six months later. I'm sorry if I'm not the woman you are looking for and I sincerely hope that you find her, but… this woman is not me" Lucifer's eyes were wide upon hearing that revelation. He had to make her understand somehow that she had been set up.

"No! This can't be true, a year ago you were taken away from me. By Uriel! Remember? And…" Suddenly remembering that people were present, Lucifer decided not to reveal too much, "he took you away from me. He told me you were dead! I've been living for the past year thinking that you were dead, and now I found you and you can't remember a single thing?" Grace looked in the direction of detective Decker, who stood speechless behind the bar separating Lucifer, Grace and Jake from the rest of them.

"I'm sorry, but I've known Jake since high school. And we were in the car together when it crashed"

"So how come he came out of that crash with seemingly not even a scratch and you were in a coma?" Lucifer was aware that he was raising his voice, but it seemed to be the only way that Grace would understand that her life for the past year had been a masquerade.

"I had two broken ribs, a fractured femur and two broken arms. And don't you think I wish I was in a coma and not Grace?" Jake shouted back, shoving Lucifer forcefully. The latter felt his anger level rise and had it not been for detective Decker coming between him and that worm of a man, he would have probably punched him hard enough to knock him out.

"Lucifer, stop! You need to calm down and come back to your senses. I don't know what this story is all about, but you clearly have the wrong woman here" Chloe looked at him with sad, compassionate eyes. She didn't understand, and how could she really? How could anyone understand the pain and suffering that Uriel had caused? Unable to be around anyone, Lucifer stormed off back to his car. His mother must have known that Grace did not remember him at all. And she would get to hear a piece of her son's mind for not warning him.


	3. Chapter 3

"MOTHER" Lucifer stormed into his penthouse, rage having completely taken over. "No point in hiding! I know that you knew all along Grace would not remember me…"

"I did give you the right address, did I not?" his mother's calm voice replied. Lucifer spun around and found her sitting behind his bar, sipping a glass of his favourite Scotch. As his mother was about to take a sip of her drink, Lucifer's eyes flared red with anger.

"You knew how much she meant to me. And you knew how much this would hurt me, why would you do this to your own son? Was your intention not to make me happy?" Lucifer's voice was getting louder and louder with each word he said.

"Of course that was my intention, my Angel" his mother walked toward him and took his hand in hers, but Lucifer quickly withdrew them. "Lucifer, you have to believe me I was unaware that she would not recognise you. I mean, who could forget a face as memorably handsome as yours?" she asked rhetorically while softly placing her hand on his cheek.

"Firstly, that is creepy coming from your own mother" Lucifer pretended to shiver in disgust while stepping back from his treacherous mother, "and secondly, you genuinely did not know?"

"No. I did not. I knew where she was and I knew that she meant a lot to you. I never expected her to have _that_ effect on you, but here you go" Lucifer decided to believe her and sank into his couch, sighing heavily as he buried his face into his hands. That morning had been a rollercoaster of emotions and something told him that this whole quest to get Grace to remember him was going to be an adventure. But he had to try, for her sake, as well as for his. And for the sake of everything they had lost and everything that could have been.

"Lucifer, I'm sorry things turned out the way they did"

"You say that as if I was giving up on her already"

"Well aren't you? Are there not plenty of fish in the sea? You are the devil, you could have anyone"

"I know that, mother" Lucifer stood up to go make himself a drink, wishing his mother would just disappear for a couple of hours while he gathered his wits, "but you see, I want this specific person. And what the devil wants, the devil gets"

"To me, you sound more like one of those very young human children. They pout when they don't get what they want and throw a tantrum until they get it" Lucifer downed his drink and slammed the glass forcefully onto the counter, cracking it in the process. His glare got even darker if that was possible.

"You don't understand, do you? Grace is not just anyone. She used to be _mine_ and when I thought she was dead I vowed that I would never get involved with another woman to save me the pain. I can get many one-night stands, sometimes several in one night" He proceeded to take a drink straight out of the bottle this time, "but one-night stands have never meant anything to me. Just sex. A distraction. Grace meant something. I _cared_ for her"

Lucifer was aware that displaying his weakness to his possibly manipulative mother might not have been the best of ideas, but he was too upset to care.

"Anyway, I would not expect _you_ to understand. The only person that ever mattered to you was your own selfish self" Not even caring about what his mother had to say next, Lucifer disappeared onto his balcony, looking over the roofs of the Los Angeles sky-scrapers. His eyes progressively wandered up until he was staring at the slightly cloudy sky.

"I knew you were cruel, dad, but I sure as Hell never thought you'd be sadistic"

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Grace's morning had been emotional to say the least. She had lost her good friend Jane and was heartbroken at the thought that she knew what had been going on behind closed doors, but she had never attempted to do anything about it. She could have called the police, she could have told someone. Jake had advised her not to get involved, because if Jane's husband found out he might come for Grace next. Which might have been the case, but Grace would never find out. She had let a woman die and she felt responsible.

Feeling an anxiety attack creeping up on her earlier, the young woman had decided to flick through her wedding photo album. Those pictures of her and Jake and their families always brought a smile to her face, even if she could not remember many of them. Her coma had made her forget almost everything, but with the caring attention of her husband she hoped that she would be able to get some of her memories back very soon.

Her thoughts turned again to that strange man from the LAPD she had met only hours earlier. She felt sad for him; he looked genuinely upset when she told him that she was not the woman he had lost a year ago. However, she was convinced that God had put him on her path for a reason. God was trying to tell her that not only she suffered from not remembering, but the people around her, people who she loved, also suffered from her not being able to recall them or the things they used to do together. So, Grace had decided to take matters into her own hands and go on a quest to summon her past back into her own mind, to find herself again.

Once she finished flicking through her wedding album, Grace picked up a brown album that read "Graduation 2007". She smiled at the thought of seeing pictures of her and her high school sweetheart Jake at their graduation. She opened the album and looked at several pictures of her husband's younger self with people who were no doubt his parents and siblings. Then several pictures of Jake and his friends followed, but Grace seemed to feature in none of them. This she began to find odd. Looking into the photo album cabinet, she checked for a second graduation album with pictures of her and Jake, but the one on her lap seemed to be the only one of that kind.

Grace grabbed an album that said Europe 2010, hoping she would find holiday pictures of her and Jake, but she was unlucky there as well. The only albums she featured in were her wedding and honeymoon albums. Her heart started racing in her chest: could Jake have been lying to her about her past? No, he would never have. There was surely an explanation for this.

"Honey, I made you a cup of tea for your nerves. Oh, you're looking at our wedding photos" Jake noticed excitedly, smiling at her fondly. Grace looked at him over her shoulder and her husband noticed straight away that something was wrong. He went to sit on the couch next to her, placing the hot drink on the coffee table and taking her hand in his.

"Babe, what's wrong?"

"I've looked through other photo albums. And I'm in none of the pictures…" Jake looked rather surprised at her comment.

"Well… I'm sure you must have missed a couple in that case…"

"No Jake, I didn't. I'm not in any graduation photos, I'm not in any holiday photos. There are three albums dedicated to your childhood and teenage years, but none that relate to mine. The only albums I feature in are the wedding and honeymoon albums" Grace tried to read her husband's expression, but he merely smiled sadly at her.

"Darling, this was one of the aspects of your past I did not want you to remember. Your parents they were… not very nice people and… well, they never really approved of me. So, they would not let you go to your graduation, yet alone with me. And they refused to let you out of the country to go on holiday with anyone…" The explanation seemed to make sense, but Grace still had doubts.

"In 2010 I would have been 20 years old. Are you telling me that my parents forbade me to leave the country?"

"Well yes. Until your 21st birthday, your parents would not give you any sort of independence" Jake's hand pulled Grace closer to him, however the young woman did not feel like being comforted. She had a feeling that something did not add up in his story.

"What about the following years until my wedding? After I turned 21? I'm still not in any other album…"

"Honey, please! The reason I'm taking this slowly is because your life up to now… well, it has been hard and not very pleasant. All I wanted was for you to start a new life, with new people and a loving husband. I wanted your new life to be filled with love and happiness… to shelter you from the pain you have faced for far too long"

Grace looked into her husband's loving eyes and although she was convinced that he genuinely meant what he was saying, she could not understand that he was trying to keep her from knowing who she was. She pulled herself away from him and spoke sternly:

"Shelter me from the pain? I lost a friend to domestic abuse today. I felt empathy for a man who lost what sounded like the love of his life in a tragic accident and saw his heart break when I told him that I was not that woman. I beat myself up every day because I don't remember half the people you introduce me to. I feel silly for not remembering anything about my past, and I want to know! I feel bad for hurting everyone by not recalling their faces, or names, or what they were to me before I had the accident. So, don't you dare say that you are trying to protect me, because you can't"

Tears had started welling up in Grace's eyes as she told Jake how she felt. Her husband seemed to feel her pain, but he did not understand it. No one ever could understand it. Gently, Jake pulled her back onto the couch and handed Grace her tea along with the pill she had to take daily. Anti-depressants.

"Take this, sweetheart, you'll soon forget about the pain"

These words triggered something in Grace. She did not _want_ to forget the pain, she was made to. What if those pills were what kept her from remembering? Or at least, from actively trying to remember? She did not want this artificial kind of happiness. She wanted to know everything about her past, the good and the bad, and learn to appreciate what she had and find happiness in her new life. None of that could be achieved if she carried on taking those pills. Squeezing it tightly in the palm of her hand, Grace brought her hand to her mouth and pretended to swallow the pill with a sip of tea. She smiled softly and kissed Jake's lips, taking advantage of his closed eyes to discreetly place the pill inside the pocket of her cardigan.

"Thank you for always taking care of me, love" she whispered tenderly.

"Always, sweetheart", he replied.


	4. Chapter 4

Lucifer was relieved that he had managed to escape his mother's presence for a couple of hours. Mazikeen, who had recently returned, sat down next to him and served them both a strong drink.

"You look lost in thought", she commented casually, "still trying to figure out how the detective is immune to your powers?"

Lucifer did not answer, not even sarcastically as was his usual. This had Maze worried ever so slightly, although she would never show it. In an attempt to catch her King's attention, she snipped her fingers right before his nose which made him blink as if he came out of trance.

"Finally!" Maze said, rolling her eyes, "care to tell me what has got the King of Hell himself so distracted?" Mazikeen had been expecting many different answers and reactions, but she had certainly not anticipated to see a look of utter distress on her master's face. His eyes looked at her uncomprehendingly, almost imploringly… Maze knew instantly that something was up.

"I found her, Maze… Grace"

Had this been a cartoon, Maze's lower jaw would have hit the floor in surprise. She wondered for a second if she was dreaming, or if Lucifer was pranking her. He would have had her good and proper. But something about his expression told her that he was being serious and Maze did not like what she was hearing in the least.

"Well, that's good news, is it not?" she asked carefully. Lucifer's distraught expression changed into that of blind rage, his eyes flaring red and his true form appearing from under the prison of flesh he inhabited. Even fearless Maze backed away from her master in fear.

"IT IS ANYTHING BUT GOOD NEWS" Lucifer roared. For a second, Maze could see the flames of hell surround her and hear the cries of help of the tortured souls that she had tormented for years. Lucifer seemed to be taking calming breaths and slowly came back to his human appearance, which had Maze relieved. He stared at her with the look of a lost puppy. "She doesn't remember me" he explained, his voice sounding like it would break but he managed to supress the rush of emotion overwhelming him.

"What?" Maze knew she had to tread carefully, for she did not fancy unleashing the beast again. It was in moments like these that she was reminded just how powerful her King was, and that she was subordinate to him, both hierarchically and physically, too.

"I found out where she stayed and payed her a visit. She did not have any recollection of me, of us. And she's married to this flaccid joke of a human being. They looked happy together, Maze, but he is lying to her. He invented a whole new life for her…" Lucifer downed his drink and threw the empty tumbler at the wall behind the bar, causing it to shatter. Maze did not even flinch.

"There is no way for me to make her see that he is lying to her. I never thought that I got my cruelty from my dad" Lucifer laughed disdainfully at this last comment and paced around the Lux, Maze's eyes following his every move. She was unsure what to say.

"Maybe if she is faced with hard-on evidence. Like a picture of you two, or… a person who was around you all the time. Someone like me, for example" Lucifer suddenly stopped pacing and looked at Maze but before he could say anything, his phone rang in his pocket. Noticing that it was the detective calling, Lucifer put on his usual flirty voice:

"Hello detective, what a delightful day to hear the sound of your voice" he greeted her, almost _hearing_ her roll her eyes at him.

"Always a charmer, Lucifer"

"Well you know what they say, Decker, the three ways in which the devil tempts you are a threat, a promise or seduction…"

"Whatever. Listen we need to talk about what happened yesterday with Mrs Hoffmann" Hearing this name made Lucifer shiver disapprovingly, but he held his tongue, "I don't know how, but I think you may be onto something." This information piqued Lucifer's interest and he motioned for Maze to listen in to the conversation by putting the detective on speaker.

"What a surprise, my instincts were right once again. I should really get a permanent job as a detective don't you think?" Chloe ignored his comment and carried on.

"I just got a call from her this morning. She believes that her husband is trying to drug her so she does not remember her past, but she is unsure whether his intentions are good like he claims they are, or if there is something else behind his behaviour. So, she asked me to look into her past for her…"

"Well I am your man for the job, detective. That is, if you are ready to admit that I was telling the truth yesterday"

"I don't know what to believe at this point, but it is definitely intriguing. And I have no idea how you are yet again involved in one of my cases, but here we go. But hear this: she went through her photo albums to try and piece her past back together, see if any of the photos would trigger a memory: she features only in her wedding and honeymoon pictures. She could find no other picture of her and her so-to-say high school sweetheart, which I think is definitely suspicious"

"Of course she would not be in any of his pictures, because she is in mine" Decker went silent for a second, unsure how to react to Lucifer's revelation.

"You have _pictures_ of her and you and you're only telling me this _now_?"

"Don't sound so irritated, detective, I was myself very confused yesterday. I understand now why humans say that love is blind… Had it not been for Maze's lucidity I myself would have taken a couple more hours to get that far"

"Oh, for Christ's sake Lucifer, just. bring. the stupid photos! _Now_ " Decker ordered.

"Well I do enjoy when you get all…" but the detective hung up before Lucifer had a chance to finish his sentence. He flashed Maze what she could only describe as an excited smile.

"Go on then, Maze, we have pictures to find"

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"There's no doubt: this is definitely her. I didn't take you for a selfie person, Lucifer…" Chloe remarked with a mocking smile on her face, which Lucifer decided to ignore.

"I look dashing, do I not? The camera definitely agrees with me" Chloe rolled her eyes.

"If eye rolling burned calories you would be my gym, Lucifer"

"I offer other kinds of physical exercises if you are interested…" he replied, winking at Decker seductively. She shot him a knowing look.

"Flirting with people is truly your way to keep up appearances, isn't it?"

"Whatever you mean by that, I don't really care nor have I got any time to dwell on it. Now back to business… what do we do about Mr Hoffmoron?" Maze let out an amused snort, while the detective shot Lucifer an exasperated look.

"I guess we first call Grace in for questioning, see if she remembers the photo and when it was taken, that sort of stuff" Decker suggested.

"What, treat her like a criminal? Don't you think she would feel intimidated if you asked her to come in for questioning?" Lucifer felt oddly protective of Grace. Old habits die hard.

"I suppose you're right. I'll give her a call and organise a day when we can meet her, maybe in a coffee shop, somewhere neutral" Decker took out her phone as she spoke and dialled Grace's number. She waited a couple of seconds before she started speaking.

"Mrs Hoffmann, hi it's detective Decker from the LAPD… I am well, thank you, yourself?... I'm glad to hear…"

"Oh, enough chit-chat already" Lucifer snapped, earning himself a glare from Chloe.

"No, sorry Mrs Hoffmann my colleague is being awfully rude. I have some information that I believe you would be interested in. May I suggest that we meet for coffee in Los Angeles to discuss this?... I am afraid that this is something I would like you to see rather than hear… alright, Café Verona on South La Brea Avenue, we will meet you there today at 2pm… the pleasure is all mine, Mrs Hoffmann, see you soon"

"You could really stop calling her that, I have a feeling she won't be Mrs Hoffmoron for very long…" Chloe put her phone back in her pocket and grabbed her jacket from off the back of her desk chair.

"Do me a favour Lucifer, when we meet that woman please keep your horrible comments to yourself. Come on, she's meeting us at that café during her lunch break we have to be there in twenty minutes. Mazikeen, you should probably go back to Lux…" Maze looked at Lucifer wearily, hoping he would let her tag along, but her King made no motion so she merely rolled her eyes and left in a huff.

"Right detective, what are we waiting for?" Lucifer asked, excitement clear in his tone.

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"Awfully sorry for the delay, detectives, I got held back at the hospital" Grace hurried to get settled and only noticed the presence of Lucifer when she looked up. She felt herself blush slightly, not expecting him to still be involved with this case.

"Don't you worry about that, Mrs Hoffmann…"

"Grace" the young woman corrected, "Mrs Hoffmann makes me sound so… old" Grace found herself wanting to say _so weird_ but she caught herself right on time. "Did you find something, detective?" she quickly added, feeling rather nervous.

"We did, actually" Lucifer spoke this time. His smile was rather disturbing considering the situation, but Grace put it down to some weird kind of coping mechanism. She had seen worse as a psychiatric nurse. "Your husband is the exemplification of the proverbial liar, liar, pants on fire…"

"Lucifer!" Chloe reprimanded sternly, "this is not what we agreed on!"

At the revelation, Grace felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She did not want to believe it, there had to be an explanation. Jake did not have an ounce of bad will in him. Then again, Grace could not really be certain of that anymore.

"What did you find?" she asked, ignoring the two detectives' bickering. Both their eyes were back on her, the female looking rather sad and apologetic and Lucifer looking… pleased. Without a word, he slid what seemed to be a picture towards Grace. She dared not look at it straight away, but eventually leaned forward ever so slightly to see past the reflection of the light making it unable for her to distinguish what the picture represented. Her breath caught in her throat when she realised what she was looking at. The picture featured her and Lucifer. She covered her mouth with her hand in shock, feeling tears well up in her eyes.

"Is this… is that…"

"That, my dear, is us. Just like I tried to tell you yesterday in your kitchen: your husband was lying! This picture, as you can see by the date at the back, was taken a little bit over a year ago, January 2016"

"My car crash happened in May 2016…" Grace whispered. Detective Decker looked at her seriously and took a note of the dates.

"Do you remember taking that picture at all?" she asked her. Grace looked first at the blonde detective, then at Lucifer, who was staring at her expectantly. She felt under pressure to remember so that she did not have to witness this man's sadness again, but no matter how long she stared and tried to remember, she could not. She shook her head and swallowed back the tears that threatened to flow down her cheeks. None of this made any sense to her. Two days ago, she was so certain about everything, and here she was today doubting her very marriage over a single picture. She noticed Lucifer's face fall.

"Do you remember anything involving you and your husband that might have taken place in January 2016? Maybe he told you something?" the blonde detective prodded some more, but Grace shook her head harder.

"No! Nothing. He told me nothing. He… he doesn't want me to remember my traumatising past, you see. Or so he claims, at least. I don't know what to believe anymore" she concluded, unable to hold back a desperate sob. Before Detective Decker had the time to react, Grace felt Lucifer place his hand over hers comfortingly. She looked up and met his dark chocolate eyes, and instantly experienced a feeling of calmness spread in her mind. Looking at Lucifer made her feel safe; she found his hand on hers appeasing and soothing. The moment lasted merely a couple of seconds, but seemed like an eternity. When she snapped out of it, she wondered what had just got over her.

"How did you do that?", she asked him.

"How did he do what?" Detective Decker asked, glaring at Lucifer.

"For the life of me, I do not know what you mean, Grace. But good to see that you are back to your senses"

"I… yeah. What, what should I do, detective? Should I confront my husband?" she asked Chloe. The woman looked uncertain what to say next.

"I believe you should carry on pretending to take the pills, make sure he does not notice. We will call him in for questioning and dig some more on our side. For the meantime, we know that he is hiding something from you and I want you to keep an eye out on his actions, do you think you can manage that?"

Grace merely nodded, still unable to believe that her husband would do anything to hurt her. She knew that there must be another explanation. Jake was a good man.

"He seemed full of good intentions for the past six months since we got married. I never expected anything like this from him…" she mused. Detective Decker remained silent and offered Grace a slightly sad, but reassuring smile.

"We will get to the bottom of this, Grace" she promised.

"You know, love, the road to hell is paved with good intentions" Lucifer commented, staring at Grace, "or so I have been told."

TBC.


	5. Chapter 5

As soon as Grace walked through the door after her one-hour commute from work, she let herself glide down along the wall onto the floor, feeling lost and very lonely. Finally able to let go, she gave free way to her tears and sobbed bitterly, letting the events from the past two days wash over her. From the loss of Jane to the discovery that Jake was potentially lying to her, Grace did not know who to turn to for advice anymore. She hiccupped uncontrollably and felt like she was choking on her sobs. There was no end to the stream of tears. Everything had stopped making sense to her.

Grace did not know how long she had been sitting on the floor of her lobby, nor how she managed to muster the strength to get up and walk to the kitchen to have a drink of water. Her brain desperately tried to rationalise the events. Firstly, she was not responsible for Jane's death. As tragic as it was, there was nothing she could have done to save her even if she had tried. Jane would not have admitted that her husband was abusive, and she would certainly not have wanted to police involved even if she had she told Grace about it. The second problem was by far more complicated to rationalize and solve: what was she to tell Jake?

Her heart told her to be honest to the man she loved and had married. Her brain asked her whether she truly had married that man for love or because she had been gullible. Grace was left utterly insecure as to what to do. The memory of the picture with her and Lucifer flashed through her brain and she attempted to remember as many details as she could. He had seemingly been holding her from behind with his fingers intertwined over her stomach, smiling wickedly. She, on the other hand, had been holding the device with which the picture was taken above their heads and wore what Grace could only describe as a genuinely happy smile on her face. Her brown curls were thrown over her left shoulder and she was wearing a fitted red cocktail dress and the matching colour of lipstick, indicating that she and Lucifer had been on their way out. And the most important factor of all, the date, January 2016, written on the back in an elegant loopy handwriting that did not belong to her. Grace had no recollection of the event at all.

As much as she struggled to remember something, anything about that night, she could not and as she went to settle on the couch, she decided not to torment herself trying. She would have to find another way to remember, but right now she needed to calm herself down before the return of her husband. And most importantly, she needed to figure out whether she should listen to her heart or to her brain; should she tell Jake the truth or test him? _If_ he indeed drugged her and she told him about her suspicions, he might get violent. As unlikely as it seemed to her, she could not exclude the possibility. Grace tried to think of a scenario in which Jake would not have known anything about the picture either, but she found herself unable to do so. The evidence was there, he had been lying to her. The question remained: why?

Grace was determined to find out.

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"What? Why on Earth would I not be allowed into the questioning room, this case concerns me as much as it concerns Grace" Maze rose from the luxurious sofa as soon as she heard her master's voice and groaned inertly when she noticed that he had brought the detective with him.

"That is exactly why I don't want you to be present when we question Jake Hoffmann. You are far too involved, and I've seen you question people before. You make them uncomfortable, nervous or even distressed. And that was without having any attachment to the victims…" Chloe knew that Lucifer understood the meaning of her sentence, but he did not seem ready to give up.

"Detective, I don't understand how you still believe that I will listen to you"

"Oh, you _will_ listen to me" the blonde snapped, poking Lucifer's chest with her index finger, "If you don't listen, I will have you removed from the premises, and if you fight back I will not hesitate to use my gun on you. I've done it before…" Maze instinctively came between the detective and her King, assuming a protective stance and glaring at Chloe. She heard Lucifer snicker from behind her back.

"Now, now Maze… The detective wouldn't actually shoot me, she has grown too fond of me for that"

"For the sake of the investigation and for the fact that I want to keep my job, I will shoot you. Don't turn up tomorrow, don't try to contact Mrs Hoffmann… just don't be involved at all! I don't think she wants to see you right now, anyway" Lucifer was about to retort, but Chloe looked at him with imploring eyes:

"Lucifer, I believe you now. I've seen the evidence that what you were telling is true, that you and Grace knew each other. And I can't imagine what you're feeling right now, but let me tell you one thing: if your goal is to get her back, you need to let her come back to you. If you pressure her, she will disappear for good. So please, don't waste the only chance you have at a happy future with her…" Without waiting for Lucifer's answer, the detective left the penthouse, but her words seemed to resonate in Lucifer's ears. He knew that she had a good point.

"What happened? Did she recognize you?" Maze asked, impatient to find out more. Her master's reaction made it clear that the picture had not been enough to bring back memories of them. Maze could not help but feel sorry for Lucifer, although she knew better than to show this.

"She is, however, recognising that Mr Hoffmoron has been lying to her. And I think that with a bit of work we could get her to remember something, at least. Any progress would be helpful at this point…" Maze eyed Lucifer carefully, thinking about a way that they could achieve this.

"The detective will not let me anywhere near her and as much as I hate to admit it, she does have a point. It won't help if I'm constantly harassing her, but it kills me to know that she is so close and I can't keep an eye on her. Unless…" Lucifer looked at Maze, "… you, my faithful Maze, make sure she remains safe"

"Me? How will I explain that when she sees me lurking around her house? Sorry, the devil asked me to keep an eye on you?"

"For example, see you are very good at this" His tone was far too cheerful considering the seriousness of what he was asking from Maze. She nonetheless knew that there was no arguing with Lucifer and she also knew very well that she would do anything for him, even if his behaviour had frustrated her lately. He was still her master, and she still adored him.

"Do you have a plan?" she asked, submitting to the task.

"Of course, the devil is always well prepared. Grace's neighbour Jane died at the hand of her abusive husband, and Grace was very close to that woman. By the sounds of it, however, she did not know much about dead girl's life apart from the fact that she had great recipe for banana bread and that her husband beat her up when no one was looking…" Maze was not following.

"So?"

"So, you will use Jane as an excuse to get to Grace and keep an eye on her for me"

"And how do you expect me to do that?" Lucifer merely offered her an enigmatic smile.

"Surprise me", he said, "now be off, and report to me as often as you can. Out with you, chop, chop" Her master ushered her out despite Maze's words of protest and when she saw the elevator doors slide shut, she groaned audibly.

"Here's a good demon" was the last thing she heard before the doors closed completely.

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Grace had just come out of a refreshing shower when she heard the doorbell. Worried that it might be the detectives again, she braced herself for the conversation that might follow and opened the door only to be met with a stranger.

"Can I help you?" Grace asked with all the friendliness of a good neighbour. The olive-skinned woman looked around her hesitantly but managed to produce what looked like a rather forced smile.

"Awfully sorry to disturb you, but I was wondering if you knew if Jane was in? I haven't heard from her in a couple of days and I'm starting to worry" Grace felt a pinch to her heart at the thought that this woman had not idea of what had befallen to her friend. Full of compassion, she took the woman's hands in hers earning herself a rather surprised look.

"I'm so sorry Miss, but Jane she… passed away" Grace managed to hold back her tears, "she…"

"That husband of hers… I knew it" The woman pulled her hands free from Grace's hold and pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index fingers. "I knew that he was bad for her, I knew it. I should have said something"

"Don't beat yourself up. I thought the same as you when I found out, but there was nothing we could have done" Grace tried her best to sound comforting, but noticing that the woman was not reacting, she offered her a cup of coffee.

"I eh… would love one, thank you…" Grace noticed the hesitation in her voice and smile reassuringly, inviting her guest inside.

"My name is Grace" she purposefully omitted the Hoffmann.

"Mazikeen Smith" the other woman introduced herself, inspecting the rooms of the house as she followed Grace in. "You eh… have a lovely home" she commented, rather awkwardly.

"Thank you, my husband is an interior designer. Even though we did not build this house, he used some of his skills to redecorate it in a cosy fashion" Grace got two mugs out of the cupboards and switched the coffee machine on, allowing Mazikeen to get comfortable.

"So, Mazikeen? Where is that name from?" Grace asked as an ice-breaker. The question seemed to take the young woman by surprise.

"It's the name of invisible demons which can create minor annoyances or great dangers"

"Oh… interesting. Quite a contrast to my name, really" Grace joked, desperately trying to make Mazikeen feel comfortable. She had just lost a dear friend, after all, although she seemed to be able to keep her emotions under control very well. Grace brought the coffees over to the lounge.

"Milk or sugar?", she offered.

"I like my coffee black", the mysterious woman replied, "and preferably with a bit of spice" Mazikeen produced a silver hip flask out of her jacket pocket and poured what Grace presumed to be strong alcohol. Grace tried not to be alarmed by the action.

"So, tell me Mazikeen…"

"Maze", the young woman corrected, "my friends call me Maze". For some reason, the last comment made Grace smile softly. She felt better knowing that she could find a friend in these difficult times.

"Works for me. So, Maze, how long have you known Jane for?" The other woman considered the question carefully before giving a short reply.

"I have lost count of the years"

"Oh… you don't look that close to Jane's age" Grace remarked, sensing that she was making Maze uncomfortable. She apologised for her intrusiveness.

"No, don't worry it's just… eh, I am not foreign to police interrogations so, it kind of brings up a lot of memories. But you couldn't have known" Grace wondered if Maze's alcohol consumption had anything to do with her being known by the police. "Jane was a friend of my mother's friend when I was a teenager and she always knew to guide me in times of need"

"She did seem like such a lovely woman, with a good heart" Grace agreed, taking a sip of her coffee, "I myself liked to confide in her. She always had the right words to cheer me up"

"Yeah… she was that kind of woman" Maze did not go into any details about the sort of events that had marked her childhood, and Grace was not one to pry. She did notice Maze's phone buzzing incessantly.

"Am I holding you up?"

"Not at all" Maze silenced her phone and put it back in her pocket, "just an annoying boss"

"Where do you work? I do hope you won't get into trouble because of me" Grace was glad for the opportunity to change the topic of conversation.

"Let me worry about that. I'm a bartender in Los Angeles. Nothing glamourous and nothing that allows me to afford this kind of place. But I enjoy it. What about you?"

"I'm a psychiatric nurse at the Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles. Sounds very fancy, but involves mostly commuting, paperwork and long nights fuelled by coffee" Grace giggled at her own comment, blushing when she got no reaction from Maze. This woman was very hard to read.

"Still better than a bartender. You must see a variety of people"

"I really do. But I assume that as a bartender, you see a multitude of different people, too" Maze smiled knowingly, downing the rest of her coffee.

"You bet! Drunk men, adulterous wives, under-aged, black, white, rich, wanna-be-rich… everyone enjoys a good time"

"What bar is it that you work for?"

"The Lux. Maybe you should come around some day" As soon as those words had been spoken, Grace thought she noticed Maze tense up, but that might have just been her imagination.

"I would love to. Would have to be a night when you are not working so we can enjoy a drink together" The suggestion seemed to take the other woman by surprise, but Grace was pleased to see Maze smile and relax somewhat.

"Sounds like a plan. I'll invite my other friend Linda to join us. She's my sort of therapist… she helps me find myself"

"I would love to meet your friend" The two women smiled at each other, but were interrupted by the sound of keys unlocking the front door.

"Hi honey", he shouted, "you'll never guess what happened at work today… oh" Jake stopped in his track when he noticed Maze sitting in his lounge, "I didn't know you had guests"

"Jake, this is Mazikeen, she is… was a friend of Jane's. Maze, this is my husband Jake" Grace introduced both parties but sensed a tension in the air, mostly coming from Maze. Her husband seemed to have noticed it too, for he avoided eye-contact. In her present state, this made Grace suspect that something was wrong, but she knew that she could merely be paranoid. She needed to keep a straight face if she was to find out what Jake was hiding from her.

"Nice to meet you, Jake" Maze had spoken those words while staring intently at her opponent.

"Chrm, the pl-pleasure is all mine, Madeleine…"

"Mazikeen" the young woman corrected, sounding somewhat snippy. To alleviate the tension, Grace cleared the table and asked Jake if he could wash up the two empty cups, which he gladly agreed to.

"Have you taken your pills today, my darling?" Grace tensed up at the question, but managed to keep a calm composure.

"I will do straight away, love. Maze, it was lovely to meet you" she told Maze, hugging the disconcerted bartender, who awkwardly returned the embrace, "I will text you a date for us to meet?"

"Oh eh… yeah, absolutely" The two women proceeded to exchange numbers before parting. Grace had a happy smile on her face when she returned to the kitchen a couple of minutes later. Jake was waiting for her with a glass of water and her tablet. Repeating her actions from the day before, Grace pretended to swallow the pill and then kissed her husband to distract him so she could hide it in her jeans pocket.

Meanwhile, Maze walked back to the Corvette parked a couple of streets further so as to not raise suspicion and checked her phone only to find that she had thirty-two unread messages from Lucifer. Rolling her eyes, she phoned him.

"The word regularly, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, denotes an action that is undertaken at regular intervals or times, more commonly known as 'often' or for children 'many times'" Lucifer's voice greeted her sarcastically.

"We have a problem… I might have invited her to have drinks at the Lux" There was a pause during which Maze considered hanging up. She was not sure how Lucifer was going to take the news.

"Alright… we'll work with that. Just don't tell the detective"

TBC.


	6. Chapter 6

"Name" Chloe asked the suspect, pen in hand and ready to take notes of whatever he was ready to reveal.

"Jacob Jeremy Hoffmann"

"Age"

"Twenty-Seven"

"Occupation?"

"Interior designer for … well, you know who for, you called my boss yesterday asking to see me" the man said sarcastically, earning himself a warning glare from the detective.

"If you have nothing to hide, you don't have to worry about this"

"Why have you even called me here? Is it about Jane's murder? I thought you established that her husband did it…"

"That investigation is closed, Mr Hoffmann. Your presence here is related to another case. We have evidence to suggest that you are lying about having known your wife before her coma" Chloe noticed the man opposite her tense up.

"How dare you insinuate that I have been lying to my wife?"

Chloe found his behaviour highly suspicious and to her, the possibility that he was hiding something did not sound as far-fetched anymore. She felt like she herself was biased because of Lucifer. As her friend, she wanted him to be happy with the woman he thought was dead. Chloe wondered how she would have reacted if she found out that her father was alive, but could not remember her or anyone else. Staring at the man opposite her, Chloe took out the picture of Lucifer and Grace and slid it over towards Mr Hoffman, who looked at it blank-faced. Leaving him a couple of seconds to consider the evidence, Chloe proceeded to flip the picture over so the suspect could read the date inscribed on its back.

"Can you explain this, Mr Hoffmann?" Chloe observed the man carefully. She thought she noticed tears well up in his eyes. When he looked up, he shook his head and sniffed miserably.

"I only have one possible explanation… She cheated on me with that guy as I stayed and fought by her side when was at her worst. I married that woman when she came out of her coma" Tears of fear and frustration were streaming down his cheeks. Chloe sighed and took the picture back.

"Mr Hoffmann, some things still don't seem to add up. Your wife told us that she has found no evidence of her being a part of your life before your wedding. She said she went through photo albums…"

"I explained this to her already, detective. Her parents did not approve of me, so they never allowed her to attend my prom, or go on holiday with me, or her friends for the matter. She had a traumatising childhood, from which I've been trying to protect her since she awoke from her coma. All I wanted was to give her a chance at a happy life. A fresh start for us both. And THIS" the suspect pointed at the picture in Chloe's hand, "is my thank you?"

Chloe felt terrible for the man and she reprimanded herself for trusting Lucifer once again too hastily. Seducing a woman who was involved with someone else did sound like him.

"Mr Hoffmann, I apologise for the questions, but I need to ask you this one: are you drugging your wife so she doesn't remember her past?" The suspect looked at Chloe hesitantly, trying to contain the fresh tears threatening to escape his eyes.

"Yes. Those pills are keeping her happy. She doesn't want to remember her past, it will destroy her. Does that truly make me a bad husband?" Chloe sighed at the revelation and took note of it all. She knew she had nothing she could hold against the guy and would have to let him go. The detective was dreading the conversation with Lucifer.

"Thank you for your time, Mr Hoffmann" Chloe said, shaking the man's hand, "and I apologise again. I hope you and your wife will find a way around this"

"I'm sure we will, detective. I won't give up on her now"

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Slamming the door of his car shut, Jake let out a relieved sigh. Cold sweat was running down the back of his neck as he leaned back against his seat and closed his eyes. He tried to calm his racing heart by taking deep calming breaths. His eyes shot open when he heard the ruffling of wings, like some massive bird had just landed at the back of his car. The feeling of relief was replaced by an overwhelming feeling of dread in the pit of Jake's stomach.

"Hello, Jacob. Long time no see…" a voice that was far too familiar spoke to Jake.

"Uriel…"

"I have come back to Earth to attend to some… angelic business, you could call it that I suppose" Uriel began to explain, looking out of the window seemingly bored, "can you imagine my surprise when I found out that my brother had found out that Grace was still alive? What do you think went through my mind when I discovered that the human I saved from hell a year ago had failed me…"

"Uriel, please I swear I did not know until now that Grace had…"

"Silence" Uriel ordered in a calm voice full of authority. Jake shook with fear and closed his eyes in the hope that Uriel would disappeared when he opened them again. "I know you never realised what was happening right under your nose. Your wife is doubting you. She has stopped taking her pills…"

"That is not possible" Jake argued, "I give them to her myself"

"Do you feed them to her?"

"No…" Jake admitted with a lump in his throat.

"I did not think so. How else would she have started to remember things?"

"I'm sorry Uriel. I promise I will be more careful, just…" Jake did not even manage to finish his sentence.

"Just what? Don't send you back to hell?" Jake flinched at the mention of this place. Uriel smiled cruelly and leaned forward so he could whisper in the terrified human's ear: "If you don't take control of the situation, I _will_ send you back to hell. Remember what it was like? Remember the torture, the pain, the screams… tell me, how long were in you hell, Jake?"

"I don't know…"

"Thirty seconds" the angel said matter-of-factly. The human began shaking and a sob he did not know had been building up escaped him. Terror washed over him at the revelation that what he had felt had been an eternity had merely been thirty seconds.

"I will do anything to not go back to hell… please, give me another chance"

"I will, Jake, even though I don't usually do second chances. But I see now that you have seen the errors of your ways. Just don't disappoint me anymore. I am watching you" The fluttering sound of wings was to be heard once again as the angel took off, leaving Jake on his own in the car. Unable to hold back any longer, the man broke into years.

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Grace's phone rang while she was walking to the bus station near the Good Samaritan Hospital. Hurriedly she rummaged through her bag and managed to awkwardly wedge the phone between her ear and her shoulder while she walked to the corner of Figueroa and 5th.

"Hello?", she answered the phone, somewhat distracted.

"I just had a lovely chat with the LAPD. Apparently, I drug you and you cheated on me with some rich guy…" Grace recognised Jake's voice and her heart skipped a beat.

"Sorry?"

"You heard me. Do you remember cheating on me?" There was bitterness in her husband's voice.

"What? Jake no, I don't. Why would you ask something like that?"

"Because I have been shown a picture of you and some other guy today at the police station and the detective asked me if I was lying to you… I can't believe you could have done something like that"

"Neither do I because I would never cheat on anyone, Jake. I… look, just put yourself in my position" Grace implored, trying to make her husband see that she needed answers and if he would not give them to her, she would go looking for them herself.

"If I was in your position I would appreciate the efforts of my partner to protect me. I would not go to the LAPD behind my partner's back. I can't believe how ungrateful you are, Grace…"

"Ungrateful? Do you even know how hard it is not to remember anything about one's past? Do you know how difficult it is for me to go through life not knowing who I am? I am grateful for you always being there for me, Jake, but I will not stand here and listen to you telling me that I am a bad person" Grace hung up before Jake had a chance to answer and sighed heavily. She felt exhausted and lost. This was the first time that Grace had ever raised her voice to Jake, at least as far as she could remember. She felt her phone buzz again in her hand and muted it. She did not want to talk to her husband right now. And she also did not feel like going home to him considering the state of mind he must be in. Could she have cheated on him? It did not sound like her, then again, she did not know anything about her old self. The thought that this kind of person was who she used to be made her feel disgusted and scared. What else had she been up to? And who apart from Jake could possibly tell her anything about her past? Shaking her head as if to chase the intrusive thoughts away, Grace looked through her phone for Maze's number and texted her.

 _I need somewhere to crash tonight, and could probably use a drink, too._

Grace carried on walking aimlessly, waiting for Maze to reply. She checked her phone every time she heard a buzz, but it was only Jake trying to get a hold of her. A quick look through the messages he sent told Grace that she was taking the right decision not to return home. She felt her stomach drop when she read some of the things he was sending her. Threats, followed by pleas, followed by apologies, followed by more threats when she would not acknowledge him. Typical manipulative behaviour that the psychiatric nurse was too familiar with. She had never believed that Jake could have that side to him. Finally, she noticed Maze's name pop up on her screen.

 _I'm all yours. Meet me at Lux asap x_

Grace sighed in relief while she googled the address to the night club.

TBC


End file.
